Tuesday, 8 December 2015

Ten years ago the Cronulla riots shocked the nation. As someone who
converted to Islam after marrying into a Muslim family and has children
growing up Muslim in Australia, I'm more aware of this impending
anniversary than most.

Watching news footage of the riots at the time, which included people
being seriously assaulted by a drunken flag-waving crowd because they
were of Arab or Muslim appearance, prompted my husband and I to
seriously consider changing our oldest son's proudly chosen Arab Muslim
name. We eventually decided against it, reasoning that we shouldn't
capitulate to racism, the event was a one-off, and that by the time he
grew up, Islamophobia would have receded.

More than 5500 people gathered at North Cronulla on December 11, 2005.

Photo: Andrew Meares

Ten years on, and anti-Muslim hate seems to have reached an all-time
high; I think twice before saying my son's name out loud in a public
place. Tens of thousands of people have liked anti-Muslim social media
pages, anti-Muslim rallies are held regularly across the country, and
several anti-Muslim political parties plan to contest the next election.

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These developments, which would have shocked many even a year ago, now
seem a normal part of the Australian political landscape. My youngest
son can identify the regular news coverage of anti-Muslim sentiment by
looking at the images. If they're of men and Australian flags, it's
about "the people who don't like us".

This has prompted me to question why the almost complete appropriation
of Australia's national symbol by groups whose agenda is to exclude has
been met with silence from those whose job it is to represent our flag
and country.

Members of the Reclaim Australia rally in Melton on November 22.

Photo: Chris Hopkins

Despite general agreement on the need to unite against the terrorists
who want to divide us, the need to unite against the right-wing
extremists who want to do the same thing has not been a part of the
national conversation. Where is the leadership on condemning increasing
extremism targeting the Muslim community?

A failure to do so has fostered an environment in which physical and
verbal attacks on people identifiably Muslim, particularly women, have
increased to the point where community leader Saara Sabbagh recently
told a forum against racism: "You can ask any Muslim woman with a
headscarf and she'll tell you a story."

A friend told me recently that her year 4 son had come home from school asking her, "Are we killers, mum?"

Speakers at a Reclaim Australia rally in Canberra on November 22.

Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

One of the most frightening aspects of rising Islamophobia is that it is
a worldwide trend. Anti-Muslim, anti-immigration political parties have
made gains in the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Austria,
France and Italy. United States presidential candidate Donald Trump
recently proposed a national register for Muslims, a move New Jersey
Rabbi Joshua Stanton said made him think about "fascist actions taken
against Jews during the last century".

Some may argue that it's inappropriate or offensive to talk about
Islamophobia when people have been killed in terrorist attacks carried
out by criminals who say they are doing so in the name of Islam. Yet
Muslims are more likely than others to be killed in terror attacks
worldwide, and just as likely to be killed in Western attacks.

There have been Muslim victims in every major western terror attack, including in New York, Madrid, London and Paris.

In addition, each time criminals carry out terrorist attacks, the entire
Muslim community faces a backlash increasingly encouraged not just by
right-wing extremists, but also by authoritative public figures. Tony
Abbott has a lot to answer for here. He has gone, but members of the
current government – including Scott Morrison, Josh Frydenberg, Cory
Bernardi​ and George Christensen – continue to actively exploit
anti-Muslim sentiment for political advantage. More importantly,
although every Muslim I have spoken to about this matter feels under
siege as never before, the silence of political leaders on growing
Islamophobia is profound.

What should politicians be saying? They could take a lead from other
public figures and community leaders, such as the musicians who have
dissociated themselves from racism by demanding anti-Muslim rally
organisers stop playing their music, and the faith leaders who have
condemned the rallies as damaging to our society.

It's not that hard, which suggests the failure of politicians to condemn
Islamophobia is a matter of political will and a fear of losing the
racist vote.

If politicians don't want to denounce anti-Muslim hatred because it's
the right thing to do, they might think about doing it because the
hate-filled leaders of Islamic State are exploiting attacks on Muslim
women in Western countries to recruit Western men.

In an English-language video set to music, IS claims to be "Defending
the pride of our sisters who have cried". Political leaders consistently
making strong statements opposing anti-Muslim bigotry as it occurs
would completely undercut that claim's potential to radicalise.

Politicians could start by condemning the use of the Australian flag at
the anti-Muslim rallies that look set to become a permanent feature of
Australian political life. They could follow up by pledging to put all
anti-Muslim political parties last on their preference cards.

When my children see images of people waving the Australian flag to
signify a hatred of Muslims, I'd like to be able to tell them that the
people in charge of our country condemn this misuse of a symbol meant to
represent us all.

Susie Latham​ is a PhD student at Curtin University and a co-founder of Voices against Bigotry.

She will be presenting at a Deakin University conference on Citizenship and Racism in Australia in December.

The Muslim Question. Citizenship in Australia

14Dec

This two day conference will address the 'Muslim question'
currently circulating in citizenship debates in the West and also
reflect upon the decade that has passed since the Cronulla riots.

Day
one hopes to address a dearth of research evidence, prompt new
conversations and directions for policy through an objective examination
of the relationship between Islamic belief, ritual and practice and
civic attitudes and expressions of social responsibility toward the
western political community. The gap in research contributes to
reductionist characterisations of Islam as a persistent threat to
western societies, fuelling Islamophobic and "extreme" nationalist
responses.

Day two will address just how significant the Cronulla
Riots were, then and now, and whether – in a world preoccupied with the
War on Terror – the Riots remain a useful reference point for
discussions of intercultural relations and multiculturalism in
Australia. This discussion is particularly relevant in a world where
Islam's compatibility with western liberal values continues to be
questioned at global, national and local scales.

Victorian Faith Networks Council of Victoria

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Title and Background photograph

The title of the blog comes from a Judith Wright poem. To read the poem please go to the post at http://interfaithinballarat.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/wisdom-and-knowledge-gained-beside-creek.html

The background of this blog was taken from a photograph by Brigid O'Carroll Walsh, the author of this blog. The photograph shows oak trees beside the Yarrowee River. It was taken from Esmond Street on Ballarat's historic Black Hill Reserve. Esmond Street forms part of the Yarrowee Trail as well as the Goldfields Track and is a favourite place for walkers, joggers, bikers, and dogs.